[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 30, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H1647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REQUIRE OPEC TO FOLLOW THE LAW

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Chocola). Pursuant to the order of the 
House of January 20, 2004, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the OPEC nations will meet to seal 
the deal on their collusion to restrict production of oil and drive up 
the price, damaging the U.S. economy, devastating U.S. consumers and 
other countries around the world.
  Now, the Bush administration thus far has taken no action. Perhaps 
not too strange when you read about the long-enduring links between the 
Bush family and the rulers of Saudi Arabia, but still I would think in 
an election year we could at least get some modicum of action out of 
this administration.
  Now Energy Secretary Abraham recently said the U.S. is not going to 
beg OPEC for oil. I agree. We should not beg. We should make them 
follow the law. This is an administration that is so big on the WTO and 
rules-based trade. I opposed the WTO. But when you are stuck in it, 
like we are, you ought to at least then use the rules that would be to 
the advantage of your people and your economy.
  And the rules, there are rules in OPEC that prohibit what is being 
done in the WTO by the OPEC countries. There are 11 OPEC countries, six 
are members of the WTO, and two have applied to join. Therefore, since 
they are violating the rules of the WTO, the Bush administration should 
file a complaint.
  It is quite easy to read. Article 11. ``No prohibitions or 
restrictions other than duties, taxes, or other charges whether made 
effective through quotas, import or export licenses or other measures 
shall be instituted or maintained by any contracting party on the 
importation of any product of the territory of any other contracting 
party or on the exportation or sale for export of any product destined 
for the territory of any other contracting party.''
  Now that is legalese, but the bottom line it says is what those OPEC 
countries who are members of the WTO are doing to collude, to restrict 
production, to drive up the price of oil, to price-gouge Americans, 
violates the rules; and the Bush administration should file a complaint 
in the WTO on that issue.
  I corresponded with the Bush administration last year. They came back 
after 6 months and said, well, there is an exclusion for a conservation 
of exhaustible natural resources. Well, that is true, except nobody in 
OPEC alleges that they are conserving exhaustible natural resources. 
They are very up front about it. They are trying to drive up the price. 
There is no conservation ethic there.
  So that exclusion does not apply, particularly since the rules go on 
to say, disguised restrictions on international trade are prohibited. 
That is what this is. It is not a conservation exception.
  So the Bush administration could use its favorite entity, the WTO, 
which it frequently uses for multinational corporations to enhance 
their profits, to degrade consumer protections, labor protections. They 
could use it now to protect the American economy, American consumers 
against price-gouging. They are not doing that, and one has to wonder 
why. I think it is because so they are so tight with the oil industry.
  People say, wait a minute. The oil industry is buying oil. No, the 
oil industry has all these special deals with the OPEC countries. If 
the OPEC countries make big headlines and say they are rising the price 
of oil by 4 bucks a barrel, the oil industry applauds. Because what 
they then do is at the pump they raise it effectively 8 bucks a barrel; 
and then when American consumers, they complain, they point to OPEC and 
say we cannot do anything about it. It is those OPECers. They raised 
it. They raised it.
  Well, if you look at the profits of the oil industry, they are up, 
phenomenal, yet the Republicans are proposing an energy bill that would 
subsidize the oil, gas, and coal industries, all of whom are 
recognizing record profits. And they say that would be the solution.
  Well, you are already subsidizing them by not taking action in the 
interest of the American people against the colluders, the price-
fixers, at OPEC. There is no explanation for the inactivity of the Bush 
administration on this other than they are getting the support of that 
industry for their reelection. That is the only potential explanation 
of why they would abandon the American economy.
  Because they are talking about the recovery is fragile, and it is 
just starting. Well, you heard from the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown) 
earlier on that. There is not much of a recovery for most Americans. 
There is some recovery in profits, but with the outsourcing of jobs 
there are no new jobs here in the United States. But now they are 
sticking it to consumers and the few businesses that we have left that 
are trying to produce goods to export and every other business that is 
based in this country through these extortionate gasoline prices and 
the Bush administration has done nothing, zero, nada, zilch. Not one 
thing, not one action has been taken.
  They are buying oil at these extortionate prices to put in the 
reserve, and they will not do anything about the high price. So they 
are gouging both taxpayers and consumers. It is a twofer for the Bush 
administration.

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